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Oh My...Health is my wealth and science is my life. Oh, I studied science back in the Philippines years ago. I'm into nutrition, too. We once had a campus-wide Nutrition Month cooking contest in high school and my group bagged the first prize! Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals . . . yeah, I used to know those by heart. Following are our tips/trivia. First comes the health and nutrition section, which is for educational purposes only and should not substitute for any professional advice. The science/technology portion succeeds it.
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 | If you wash down calcium-rich food with phosphoric acid-rich soft drink, phosphorus will block calcium absorption. (Read: Cok* or P*psi...) {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Alokon, endemic to the Philippines, is rich with Vitamins A, B & C, together with calcium, phosphorus, potassium & iron. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| The King Green for the non-Filipino nutritionist is broccoli; the Filipino has marunggay. |
| Did you know that sili leaves contain more Vitamin B than gabi, potato and marunggay? {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Blackstrap molasses has iron, calcium and other nutrients. All other sweeteners such as brown/white sugar, fruit sugar, honey, maple syrup and corn syrup essentially supply nothing but empty calories. {Added Fall 99 |
| Do you really need those energy and nutrition bars? (Read: Ensur* or Balanc*.) Don't kid yourself. Better grab a piece of fresh fruit. |
| Avocado has the highest potassium content of all common domestic fruits. Packed with proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, it is recognized as the world's most nutritious fruit. |
| Bananas may fortify brain cells and are high in potassium, but too much of that nutrient can give you kidney stones. |
| Consume natural foods high in vitamins A, B, C and E, with a dash of selenium and a pinch of zinc to supercharge your love machine. Specialists recommend squash, chicken, citrus fruits, egg yolks, whole grains and oysters. {Added May 24 00 |
| When exercising or dealing with hot weather, eschew caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. Most coffee, chocolate, tea and soda drinks promote polyuria (excessive fluid loss) and systemic dehydration. {Added Jun 19 00 |
| One way to reduce your intake of artery-cloggers is by choosing, based on the desired taste, between monounsaturated oils (canola, olive, peanut) and polyunsaturated oils (the popular soybean, corn, safflower). Abstain from these fats: saturated (palm-kernel oil, meat & full-fat dairy foods, etc.) and trans (partially hydrogenated oil). {Added Fall 99 |
| Refrigerate cooking oil and wheat germ to inhibit rancidity. {Added Jul 31 00 |
| Consuming whole grains may lower risk of fatal heart attack. Select a product with a "whole" or "whole grain" ingredient like whole wheat, brown rice, or oats. {Added Summer 99 |
| Experts encourage diabetics to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, dried beans and peas, and whole-grain breads and cereals. These foods are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates and fiber. Besides improving cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels, high-fiber diets also control weight and help prevent colon cancer. Intakes of protein, saturated fats and trans-fatty acids should be limited. {Added Jul 28 00 |
| Soluble or insoluble, all fibers are poorly digestible and have little nutritional value. Still, they offer significant health benefits. Soluble fiber (found in dried beans, oat bran, barley, apples, citrus fruits and potatoes) lowers blood cholesterol level; insoluble fiber (whole grains, wheat bran, seeds, and fruit and vegetable peels) reduces body weight. If you increase your soluble fiber intake, you should also increase your liquid intake. {Added Jul 31 00 |
| Employees in nursing homes, supermarkets and other crowded places should undergo diagnostic tests for tuberculosis. The bacteria that cause the disease are expelled from the lungs when an infected person speaks, laughs, sings, sneezes and/or coughs. Cattle can also transmit TB through unpasteurized milk. {Added May 26 00 |
| To avoid allergy, get rid of carpets and upholstered furniture wherever you can. {Added Summer 99 |
| Feeling great or not, you should drink six to eight glasses of water and/or fruit juice daily. Imbibe extra fluids when you feel the common cold coming on. {Added Apr 1 00 |
| Every cigarette stick you smoke shortens your expected life span by about 5 minutes. {Added Summer 99 |
| Prevent cataracts: Wear a wide-brimmed hat outdoors to avoid the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light and use close-fitting, wrap-around sunglasses with UVA or UVB protection. Don't smoke. {Added Sep 25 00 |
| Excessive alcohol consumption (more than 2 drinks daily for a man, more than 1 for a woman) can increase the risk of cataracts. {Added Fall 99 |
| When cleaning using dangerous chemicals, shield your eyes from fumes and splash with eyewear. {Added Oct 09 00 |
| Reduce visual and other discomforts during prolonged computer use. Help moisten and lubricate your eyes by blinking and/or yawning. Do not rest your hand on the mouse when not using it; relax hands in your lap when not entering data. {Added May 10 00 |
| Invisible electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from a computer monitor (and many household appliances) may lead to miscarriage, cancer and compromised immune system, but not yet proven. Sit at least 2 feet away from the screen and 3 feet from adjacent computers. The strongest fields are from the sides and back of a terminal. {Added Winter 99 |
| Don't shake an infant. Doing so or tossing him up in the air may damage his undeveloped brain. {Added Summer 99 |
| Some birth control methods proven to be ineffective are withdrawal, rhythm, intercourse during menstruation, standing up immediately after sex and douching after sex. Praying won't even prevent pregnancy. {Added May 13 00 |
| Store condom in a cool, dry place to maintain quality. Wallet not recommended. {Written Aug 15 99 |
Warning: Go away, trivia thieves! I'm still deciding what to do with the NCC - National Computer Center of the Philippines. To think that it's a government agency ... To sue or not to sue? Got a suggestion? Witness what these plagiarists have done to my trivia at: http://www.scitech.gov.ph/butter.php?opt=2&id1=7&itemid=74000&id2=4&level=2 |
Clonal mist technology for hardwood trees, commercial fluorescent lamp, karaoke, what else did Filipinos invent? Read on.
| An adult dragonfly has 28,000 eyes. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| By flicking its tongue, a snake can pick up sound waves; it has no ear. {Added Fall 99 |
| An ant has five noses and an earthworm has five hearts. {Added Fall 99, Revised Winter 99 |
| Schools of yellowfin tuna swim directly underneath herds of dolphin. No one knows why... A shark can detect one part of blood in 100 million parts of water... About 85% of plants on Earth can be found in the oceans. |
| The most intelligent animal besides human is chimpanzee. A pig is smarter than a dog. {Written Aug 15 99... A giraffe can survive without water longer than a camel... Some lions mate over 50 times daily. |
| Sunlight and fresh air can kill the organism that causes tuberculosis which, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is the biggest killer of women globally. {Added Fall 99 |
| Polio vaccine was discovered using Philippine monkeys. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Zebronkey, half-zebra and half-donkey, was first bred in Manila Zoo in 1962. {Added Summer 99 |
| Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III demonstrated that tilapia's fry fed with sex hormones can turn female potential fry into male. {Added Summer 99 |
| The Filipino doctor who co-created the drug Erythromycin (Ilosone®) from Iloilo soil was Abelardo Aguilar. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| In Spring 1999, the water-based insect buster called Household Insecticide (HI) won Gonzalo Catan Jr. the Silver Medal at the 27th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland. This Filipino innovation makes use of 21 useful microorganisms, among other materials, to kill flies, mosquitoes, termites, ants, roaches, as well as dog ticks, fleas and lice. {Added Summer 99 |
| Two Filipino inventors scored a pair of gold medals in the International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design and Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2000) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2000. Engr. Cornelio Seño of Los Banos, Laguna and Rolando dela Cruz garnered golds for their inventions called, respectively, "Pressure Fluid Machine" and "Topical Formulation in Removing Warts, Moles and the Like Using Cashew Nuts (Annacardium occidentale)." Dela Cruz spent 25 years of research for his winning cashew nut preparation known as Dewart and Demole. Seno has four US and four Philippine patents under his name. {Added Nov 30 00 |
| The University of the Philippines developed an anti-cough medicine (Ascof) and a diuretic (Releaf) from Philippine herbs lagundi and sambong, respectively, which won a silver in the 1997 International Inventors' Fair in Switzerland. The research papers were organized by Dr. Francis Gomez. |
| Besides inventing the banana vinegar, Maria Carlita Rex-Doran also produced
an ampalaya (bittermelon) concoction for diabetes mellitus and HIV infection.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) conferred on her the Gold Medal in 1989, four years after another Filipina inventor, Olympia Gonzales, achieved the same award. {Added Aug 8 00 |
| Who first made the banana catsup and the pineapple vinegar? Maria Ylagan Orosa of the Philippines. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Dr. Ramon Barba discovered that spraying mango trees with potassium nitrate induced flowering all year round. This technology made the Philippines a leading exporter of mangoes and mango products such as candy, puree and juice. |
| In 1971, a team was led by Dr. Emerita V. de Guzman in making the first makapuno (coconut mutant for delicacies) harvest from a test tube... A student at the University of Santo Tomas named Teodula K. Africa made the first nata de coco (fermented coconut gelatin) in 1979. |
| Milagros A. Ramos invented the submerged method of cultivating edible mushroom mycelium (the vegetative stage of mushrooms) in liquid medium in 1963. Her concept departed from the traditional bed-culture method. {Added Oct 31 00 |
| The world's rice research leader, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is located in Los Baños, Laguna Philippines... The leading rice exporter is Thailand, followed by the USA... The Philippines' foremost rice breeder, Dr. Rodolfo Aquino, was one of the scientists who developed IR8, the 1966 strain of the rice variety that launched Asia's "Green Revolution." {Written Aug 15 99... In 1970, Dr. Ricardo Lantican of Los Baños led a corn research that saved America's corn industry from the Southern leaf blight. |
| Dr. Nic Liquido pioneered the research on light-activated dyes that control many fruit flies. He is a University of the Philippines (UP) alumnus and former lab director of the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Research Service. {Written Aug 15 99... Dr. Baldomero Olivera, a UP Summa cum Laude graduate, discovered conotoxins, a bunch of biomolecules in Philippine marine snails now used in international neuroscience research... A seacone known scientifically as Conus lapulapu was named after Lapulapu, the Philippine hero who killed Ferdinand Magellan in war. |
| Dr. Florante Quiocho, a Filipino scientist, solved the structure of calmodulin bound to its ligand (calcium). |
| Urine is normally used in drug detection, but Dr. Enrique Ostrea discovered that the use of meconium (the baby's first stools) was more sensitive since the drugs taken by the mother accumulate in the fetus' intestines. This mec test is now used by the US National Institutes of Health, and Ostrea has received numerous awards and US patents. |
| Dr. Jorge Camara, a University of the Philippines graduate, made history as the world's first doctor to use teleophthalmology when he guided Dr. Susan Senft in removing an eye tumor via two-way, closed circuit television in 1999. {Added Oct 19 00 |
| In the 1970s, immunologist Eduardo A. Padlan, together with Dr. D. R. Davies, used x-ray crystallography to study the antibody, which was helpful in diagnosing cancer cells and in understanding the immune system as a whole. |
| Ned Teves, a Filipino anesthesiologist, invented the endotracheal tube cardiac monitor. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Wilmo Orejola, a Filipino surgeon, created the harmonic scalpel, an ultrasonic surgical knife that doesn't burn flesh. He has more than a dozen medical and toy patents in the US and in the Philippines... Francis Duhaylongsod, a Filipino heart surgeon in Hawaii, invented an operation called minimally-invasive cardiac surgery. This uses smaller cuts into the body, reducing the nine-week recovery period to two. |
| The orthopedist who authored the ''Fracture Classification Manual'' now widely used all over the world was who? Ramon Gustilo, a Filipino surgeon who holds nine patents for artificial bone replacement systems. |
| Dr. E. V. Macalalag Jr., chief urologist of the Philippine Army General Hospital, discovered that water from young coconut could be used as universal urinary stone solvent. He named this procedure as bukolysis. |
| Who invented the fluorescent lamp? Thomas Edison discovered the electric light and Nikola Tesla invented the fluorescent lighting. But the fluorescent lamp we use today was invented by Agapito Flores, a Filipino electrician. Americans helped Filipino politicians to develop it for worldwide commerce. General Electric has denied this. Similarly, the anti-cancer drug Taxol was invented by Filipinos using Philippine yew (Taxus matrana) but patented by Americans. {Written Aug 15 99, Revised May 18 00 |
| Francisco Quisumbing, a Filipino chemist, invented Quink pen ink which he sold to Parker for international consumption. The ink cleans the pen as it writes, dries quickly on paper, and remains liquid inside the tube. |
| Juanito A. Simon, a US-educated and -trained metallurgist who smoothly speaks Kapampangan, formulated the Per'tua motor lubricant internationally known as Tribotech (www.tribotech.com). This product is now used by McDonnell Douglas in AH-65 Apache combat support helicopters, Boeing autoclaves and giant ovens which bake vital aircraft parts. {Added Dec 11 00 |
| A rust-proofing and water-coating material rolled into one called Marglue Marcoat was invented by Margie Centeno of the Philippines. |
| Melano tells the contents of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank and automatically shuts off gas flow to the burner once a hose or tank leaks. This safety device was created by Arquillo Melano Sr. and had never been instituted by American, European and Japanese manufacturers earlier. |
| Felix D. Maramba Sr. invented the power generator fed by charcoal and coconut oil. |
| Dr. Antonio Mateo made the double-flaring tool (DFT) for plumbing installation for airtight sealing of joints. He was awarded the WIPO Gold Medal in Geneva, Switzerland in 1994. His company AMECOS also markets the fire blanket, a Filipino innovation that saves lives and properties in case of fire. |
| NEW! WIPO Inventor of the Year 1995 Edgardo Vazquez brought home the Gold Medal for the modular housing called Vazbuilt. This is a system for building fire-, termite-, typhoon- and earthquake-proof houses in less than a month using prefabricated posts and panels. Engr. James Reamon also took a gold from the WIPO in 1984 for his Jimbo Ventilation System. {Added Jan 30 01 |
| Rodolfo Arambulo of Laguna, Philippines developed Multishock, a bullet type that increases the firepower and stopping power of an ordinary gun with multiple hits in a single shot. It is considered as the first of its kind in the world. {Added Aug 3 00 |
| Engr. Leonardo Gasendo of Manila made the super windmill as well as the salt evaporator. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Architect Eddie Urcia, a Bicolano who owns a bicycle factory in Brunei, invented and patented the world's fastest bike with 48-gear combinations. |
| Filipina Margie Talaugon made the first car seat pillow for a child... The windshield wiper was the 1903 idea of Alabama's Mary Anderson. |
| Filipino inventor Daniel Dingel started working on a water-powered car and prototype in 1969. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, his hydrogen reactor uses electricity from a 12-volt car battery to transform ordinary tap water with salt into deuterium oxide or heavy water. European and other foreign cars run on liquid hydrogen, not ordinary water; they also make use of fuel cell engines instead of internal combustion engines. (Dingel's car has never been patented and commercialized because of what he suspects as an anti-Dingel car conspiracy by multinational oil companies.) {Added Summer 99 |
| Roberto del Rosario invented the piano tuner's guide, the piano keyboard stressing device, the voice color tape, and the one-man-band (OMB). The OMB was later developed as the Sing-Along-System (SAS) to aid his voice students. His first model came out in the 1970s, and was copied by the Japanese who named their device the karaoke. The July 24, 1999 Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Del Rosario filed a suit and was consequently awarded sole authority over karaoke's Philippine production. {Written Aug 15 99, Revised Spring 00 |
| Ironmate, a device that automatically shuts off electricity when a flatiron is rested on it, was designed by Rodolfo Biescas Sr. of Albay, Philippines. |
| Camilo M. Tabalba, a Filipino engineer, headed a team to make the telephone electronic in 1970. By 1975, he published his findings, including the development of the dynamic transducer (a transmission circuit replacing the carbon transmitter). His work helped in the development of the modern Touchtone phone. {Added Fall 99 |
| Engr. Jose Zafaralla of Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte invented a machine that makes straight bamboo poles for use in making furniture and other bamboocrafts. |
| The 22-watt reflectorized circular lamp was built in a wooden box by Eduardo Sta. Ines. The auxiliary is a plastic diffuser and a stainless-steel reflector that gives a bright and wide illuminator. |
| Dr. Josefino Comiso, a Filipino physicist with NASA, first discovered a recurring polynya (semipermanent area of open water in sea ice) in the Cosmonaut Sea, south of the Indian Ocean. |
| The first Filipina engineer to become NASA Space Mission manager was Angelita Albano Castro Kelly, who studied Mathematics/Physics at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and finished Summa cum Laude. She traces her roots to Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. {Written Aug 15 99, Revised Winter 99 |
| Filipino Eugene Resos designed the pilot seat for Boeing 747 jumbo jet in 1968. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Flying in 1954 at the Manila International Airport, the airplane with an engine using alcohol was invented by Dr. Gregorio Zara (born on March 8, 1902). He also made the TV-telephone (videophone), a device that enables callers to view each other onscreen. |
| Who created the Lunar Rover or moon buggy used in 1969 by American astronauts who first landed on the moon? A Filipino employee of Lockheed Corporation christened Eduardo San Juan. {Written Aug 15 99, Revised Fall 99 |
| Filipino astronomers Edwin Aguirre and Imelda Joson discovered Asteroid 6282 (called Edwelda after their first names), an asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter. |
| Dr. Jose B. Cruz used engineering and mathematics to devise the comparison sensitivity matrix for evaluating changes occurring in different components - from the parts of an ordinary flashlight to the automatic control and feedback of a Patriot missile. He graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of the Philippines. |
| Who pioneered the padding or translational technique now widely used in complexity theory? Dr. Carlos H. Ibarra, a Filipino professor at University of California (Santa Barbara) who has been a leading researcher on the design and analysis of algorithms, the theory of computation, computational complexity, parallel computing and digital libraries. {Added Summer 99 |
| Edward Sanchez, a Mensan, bagged the grand prize in the first Philippine Search for Product Excellence in Information Technology. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| The inventor of the one-chip video camera was Marc Loinaz, a Filipino resident of New Jersey who works with Lucent Technologies. He was featured in the July 1999 issue of Discover Magazine. {Added Summer 99 |
| Diosdado Banatao, an engineer from Cagayan, Philippines, pioneered graphics acceleration, introducing the world's 1st graphical user interface (GUI) accelerator. He also contributed designs like the ethernet, a networking protocol plugged into PCs... Asian-Indian Vinod Dham made the Pentium chip for Intel and the K6 processor for AMD. {Added Summer 99 |
| Kevlar, a plastic substance, is stronger than steel fourfold. {Written Aug 15 99 |
| Glass isn't solid, but liquid. {Written Aug 15 99 (Right, D. P. - R. B.) |
| As of Summer 1999, there were 196,000,000 Internet users worldwide... According to Newsweek Magazine, about 33% of US households were online. As high as 64% of Asian-Americans were netizens, followed by Hispanics (36%) and Caucasians (34%). {Added Summer 99, Revised Spring 00 |
| Computers, washing machines and refrigerators are among the top consumers of electricity at home. They may receive the Energy Star® rating if they are significantly more energy-efficient than the minimum government standards, as determined by testing procedures. Typically, a computer configured to use Energy Star features will reduce its power consumption from over 150 watts to less than 15 watts during inactivity period. |
| Turn your computer's color monitor off when not in use. Leaving a screensaver running may shorten its life. |
| A magnetic diskette (floppy) has an average life span of 1 year. Others: Magnetic hard drive = 3 to 5 years, magnetic tape = 3 to 30, optical CD-RW = 30, CD-R = 75 to 100 and CD-ROM = 200. {Added Mar 1 00 |
| Efficiently use search engines by enclosing keywords with quotation marks. To ensure that a specific word is included in the search topic, type + before the keyword in the box; to exclude, type -. |
| When using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, save time by right-clicking on a link and selecting "Open in New Window" from the pop-up menu. Read the current webpage while the new one loads in a separate window. Also, press space bar once to scroll down a page one-screen long. {Added Sep 99 |
| Don't give out social security numbers and passwords online. Should you send credit card or financial information, make sure the web server is secure. Look for an address that begins with "https://" and the window should have a padlock along the bottom. {Added Summer 99 |
| Never download e-mail attachments from strangers, especially .shs, .vbs and .exe files. {Added Sep 99, Revised May 00 |
| To protect kids from inappropriate web content, use Net Nanny (netnanny.com) and Cyber Patrol (cyberpatrol.com), two popular monitoring packages. {Written Aug 15 99 |
If you want more Filipino-related science trivia, contact me.
© by R. Balboa
trivia last added: January 2001
